Meet the Team

Marian Schaffer, Founder

Marian Schaffer began her career as a financial and retirement planner in the securities industry. She became a VP of Investments for AG Edwards, now part of Wells Fargo Advisors. During those 11 years, Marian helped clients achieve their financial goals through retirement planning, college saving, wealth building, succession and estate planning. She "retired" when her children were young, giving her clientele to her colleague and brother, who has repeatedly been named one of Barron's Top 1000 Financial Consultants in the U.S. year over year. Through personal endeavors in real estate in the early 2000's, Marian recognized there was not a centralized source to offer guidance and advice in an unbiased manner to actively looking real estate buyers who were interested in retirement relocation or finding a second home in the Southeast. Marian has spent the past decade researching, visiting and repeatedly assessing areas and developments located throughout the region. Consequently, she has built solid relationships with developers and real estate professionals and has gained valuable insight on the region's real estate market. As a result, she has become a valuable resource for today's buyers who are looking for the right area and community for them. Over the past 10 years, The Schaffer Realty Group, better known today as Southeast Discovery, has directly connected many buyers with quality master-planned developments and independent properties throughout the Southeast region. Southeast Discovery is guided with the same principles Marian Schaffer relied on when choosing investments for her clients to achieve their goals; proper due diligence, methodical planning and identifying reasonably priced assets.

Lorri Hunter

Client Services and Realtor

Like so many who now live in the Southeast, Lorri
and her family vacationed at the South Carolina coast for many years. In 2005, Lorri and her
husband relocated from PA to Bluffton, South Carolina and have never looked back. Lorri spent years in the hospitality industry, most recently
serving as the Member Relations Manager at Palmetto Bluff and prior to that, Indigo Run - on Hilton Head Island. She's passionate about helping others and works with inquirers and referrals who visit SoutheastDiscovery.com - helping them to navigate effectively through the process of determining where to look so they can find the right area, community and home that's right for them. Further, as a licensed real estate agent with a strong knowledge base of the Lowcountry's marketplace, Lorri directly assists and guides clients who are looking at the Bluffton/Hilton Head Island area.

Kimberly Houston

Social Media Director and Writer; Coastal Carolinas

As a resident of Wilmington, NC, Kimberly has written on topics ranging from wine, cooking, and restaurants to the coastal way of
life in Wilmington and the surrounding coastal North Carolina area. As Southeast Discovery's Social Media Director, Kimberly keeps our readers informed on topics relating to retirement planning, retirement relocation, second homes and the various lifestyles that living in the Southeast region offers.

Mike Czeczot

Writer; Western Carolinas & Florida

A New England native, Mike has been a journalist since 1975, having worked at newspapers in Massachusetts (11 years) and Florida (25 years) as a reporter, features writer, city editor and managing editor of both print and online editions. He's interviewed a president, a king, "the Swedish Chef" (Frank Oz) and others during his career and has orchestrated coverage of blizzards, shuttle disasters, Florida wildfires and 9/11. He and his wife Carol reside in the Western North Carolina mountains after relocating there from Florida.

Tuzy Snyder-Wall

Writer; Coastal South Carolina and Southeast region

Tuzy has been a marketing communications and hospitality
professional in South Carolina since 1986. A former property manager
and general manager of a nationally televised ATP mens' professional
tennis tour event at Wild Dunes and Kiawah Resorts in Charleston, she
made her way to Hilton Head Island in 1990 where she was director of
marketing communications for golf and tennis operations, four and five
diamond resorts, as well as the principal of TAO Communications, a full
service marketing company. Today, when not writing for Southeast Discovery, Tuzy is a fabric and jewelry artist displaying in galleries
and shops on Hilton Head Island. She happily resides in Sea Pines
Plantation on Hilton Head Island with her husband Steve and two cats,
Lucky and Nina in a beautiful home that is part of the Airbnb network.

Don Hendershot

Writer; Western North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia

As a freelance writer and naturalist living in Waynesville, North Carolina - Don Hendershot has written for national magazines such as Our State, Native American Journal and Smoky Mountain Living. His weekly column, The Naturalist's Corner, appears in the Smoky Mountain News. He is a regular contributor at Southeast Discovery and enjoys covering outdoor living activities and pursuits which the region is so well-known for. Hendershot was awarded the Roosevelt-Ashe Society's award for Outstanding Journalism in Conservation in 2011. He has been an avid birder for years, leading trips for organizations like the Great Smoky Mountains Audubon Society, Town of Waynesville and the Haywood County Arts Council.

Latest Blog Posts

Balsam Mountain Preserve, a low-density mountain community located in Western North Carolina recently unveiled its newest amenity - Palmer Practice Park, a state-of-the-art golf practice facility designed by Arnold Palmer Design Company. This facility is located near Doubletop Village, the latest real estate addit...Read More

Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia, one of only 11 resorts to earn a GOLF Magazine Platinum Medal, is once again offering its popular "First Round's on Us" package for the rest of the summer 2018. The limited time only package, available through August 31, features a complimentary afternoon round upon the guests' arri...Read More

Testimonials

"Joyce
and I want to thank you for all your guidance as we prepared to look
for property on the coast of both North and South Carolina. We feel very
fortunate to have tripped upon The Schaffer Realty Group after reading
your blog site, www.southernwayoflife.com where it..."

"I
thought of you today when I paid my first mortgage payment on the lot! I
wanted to thank you for working with us for the years it took to find
the right spot. Your knowledge about the various areas helped me feel that I had researched the options without doing it all..."

"Thank you for the information on Sundrops. Phillip Gamble has sent pictures and communicated
to us very well. Cathy and I have found a fractional of a private
mountain home near Boone. It is in our price range and is 1/13 which is
what we think we want. We finalized..."

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